Bells Palsy :(

Has anyone had this?

I'm so confused. I was diagnosed with it saturday night after noticing a droop & paralysis in the right side of my face. I was prescribed a course of steroids to help speed up revovery & eye drops to prevent infection. They dont believe the paralysis is too severe, but basically I have to wait for it to correct itself. After seeing two doctors, I am still completely confused about wat has caused it.

If you have had it, how long did it take to correct itself? I'm feeling so completely horrible and ugly, I want my face back!

I haven't but my DD had it when she was 6. She could only eat or drink threw a straw and couldn't close her eye. She was put on steroids too. It took 3 weeks for to be totally normal again. But only a few days to make a difference.

My mum had it when she was pg with my sister 47 years ago and they didn't use steroids. She still has a difference in the size of her eyes but you only see it when your putting on make up on her.

My sister had it years ago and was caused they think from stress. She was going through a separation. It was just after Sam Newman had announced he had it so that's how we knew what it was. She had to take some medication and that drastically improved her 'droopy' face within weeks. It was only one side of her face that was noticeably affected. Now you would never know and drs told her it might reoccur but she hasn't had it again. I don't know enough about it but I wish you all the best for a speedy recovery

My brother has had it twice. First time during the HSC, second time on Mothers Day this year as he's had a particularly stressful time at work. It's caused by a virus which preys on your body during times of increased stress.

First time it took a few months to resolve - he had physio on his face. Second time it took only a few days.

Mine is definitely not as severe.as the cases mentioned here. My eye isnt quite closing properly, and unless you look closely you can barely notice the facial droop. Its when I smile that it is horribly noticable.

I've just had a new baby, so I guess stress could be a factor. Who knows.

Im very sorry to hear you have Bells plasy. It is usually caused by a virus attacking the facial nerve. The most common virus is the cold sore virus (herpes zoster). The greatest amount of recovery occurs in the first month. It can be worthwhile going to a physio to make sure that when your muscle function is returning you dont overuse some muscles and get strange links between muscles (such as being unable to close your eye without lifting the corner of your mouth). The main thing at the moment is to make sure your eye/cornea doesnt dry out if you cant close it fully (especially at night). You may need to tape it closed or put a thick eye gel in the eye and cover eye with a patch (make sure patch cant touch eyeball) to reduce drying out. You can also do gentle massage/ stroke along the muscles of the face to help maintain soft tissue flexibility (a physio can show you this). Most people make a full recovery. I wish you a speedy recovery.

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I had it when pregnant with my DD and know exactly how you're feeling, I also felt very self concious and didnt want anyone seeing me. There are two types of bells palsy. One caused by a virus which can affect anyone at any time and then the other which is caused by fluid retention crushing the main nerve that goes through the skull that effects the muscles on the face. Thats what my doc said to me anyway. I had terrible fluid retention and put on 30kg when pregnant with DD which is a huge amount when I only weighed 50kg to begin with. I also was given the steroids which stopped it from getting any worse. It was much more noticeable when I got tired. It probably took about a month or so before it was completely gone. Although it affects different people for different amounts of time. I only got it 10 days prior to delivering bub. Unfortunately I was told by a doc who specialises in it during pregnancy and just after birth that there is nothing you can do to make it heal any quicker but give it time. Fingers crossed yours recovers quickly. Hugs.

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